Two-thirds of children living in low-income families in Detroit have parents who work. The majority of these children—about 70,000—have parents who work full-time, year-round. In Detroit, as elsewhere in Michigan and throughout the United States, a full-time job at low wages is not enough to make ends meet. Work supports—such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and child care subsidies—can help. But as this snapshot shows, families often lose eligibility before they are economically self-sufficient. In some cases, just a small increase in earnings can trigger a substantial loss in benefits, leaving the family worse off than it was before.
More than 26 percent of all low-income children in the United States live in immigrant families. These children are more likely to experience hardships than children with native-born parents, but they are less likely to benefit from government programs that could assist them and their families. Both federal and state policies play important roles in determining immigrant families' access to key public benefits, impacting the economic security of millions of America's children.
Immigrant families' access to key public benefits—food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance, Supplementary Security Income (SSI), and public health insurance for children and parents—varies greatly based on where they live. Changes in federal policies over the last decade have left states with increased discretion to determine immigrants' access to these supports. States' choices, particularly in states with large or quickly growing immigrant populations, can make a significant impact on the economic security of children in immigrant families.
The federal government sets U.S. immigration policies that regulate the flow of immigrants into the United States. The federal government also bears primary responsibility for immigrant policies that determine the treatment of immigrants within the nation, although in recent years much of this responsibility has been shifted onto the states. Both types of policies have important implications for the economic security of immigrant families and set the context for state and local policy choices regarding immigrant children and their families.
Most low-income families have few if any assets to help them weather even a short-term loss of employment. Policies designed to assist low-income families can contribute to this problem by penalizing those who accumulate assets. In some states, even small levels of savings or a single car can make families ineligible for TANF cash assistance, food stamps, and public health insurance. Policies should recognize the need to develop assets as part of the path to economic self-sufficiency. Recipients should be allowed to purchase vehicles—often critical to finding and keeping a job—and build modest savings. And low-income families faced with a financial crisis should be able to get supports without giving up their car or exhausting their savings. Over the past several years, states have gained increased discretion to determine the treatment of family assets in benefit eligibility criteria. Asset tests now vary widely both across policies and across states.
Houston families are working harder than ever. In fact, more than 75 percent of the children living in low-income families in Houston have parents who are employed, and the majority of these children — about 400,000 — have parents who work full-time, year-round. But, despite their best efforts, these parents are struggling to afford the most basic necessities for their families. In Houston, as elsewhere in Texas and the United States, a full-time job at low wages is not enough to make ends meet. Work supports such as the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and public health insurance can help narrow the gap between low earnings and the cost of basic expenses. But a critical Texas work support — child care assistance — is woefully underfunded and therefore out of reach for many qualified families. This fact sheet finds that child care is one of the largest expenses working families face, and unless they receive help with the cost of care, low-wage working parents remain unable to afford basic family necessities.
San Antonio families are working harder than ever. In fact, more than 85 percent of the children living in low-income families in San Antonio have parents who are employed, and the majority of these children — about 150,000 — have parents who work full-time, year-round. But, despite their best efforts, these parents are struggling to afford the most basic necessities for their families. In San Antonio, as elsewhere in Texas and the United States, a full-time job at low wages is not enough to make ends meet. Work supports such as the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and public health insurance can help narrow the gap between low earnings and the cost of basic expenses. But a critical Texas work support — child care assistance — is woefully underfunded and therefore out of reach for many qualified families. This fact sheet finds that child care is one of the largest expenses working families face, and unless they receive help with the cost of care, low-wage working parents remain unable to afford basic family necessities.
In Colorado, as in other states across the country, the high cost of child care puts reliable, high-quality care out of reach for many families. Child care subsidies can help, but current policies reach only a fraction of those in need of assistance. Moreover, families who do receive subsidies can find themselves penalized for working and earning more as just a small raise can trigger a substantial loss in benefits. Using results from NCCP's Family Resource Simulator, this report illustrates these policy challenges and discusses possible solutions that would better help Colorado's low- to moderate-income workers meet their child care needs.
Using results from NCCP's Family Resource Simulator, a policy simulation tool, this report analyzes the effectiveness of Illinois' "work support" policies—benefits such as earned income tax credits, health insurance coverage, child care assistance, and food stamps. We find that when families receive the benefits for which they are eligible, Illinois' policies are generally successful in helping families close the gap between low earnings and basic expenses. Rewarding progress in the workforce, however, remains a challenge. Small increases in family income can trigger sharp reductions in benefits, leaving families no better off—or even worse off—than before.
What happens when a family loses one or more vital work supports? This brief uses the Family Resource Simulator, developed by the National Center for Children in Poverty, to illustrate the impact of the loss of benefits on working families. The Simulator is a web-based tool that calculates a family's resources and basic expenses in the context of federal and state policies as family earnings increase. Calculations are based on hypothetical families, created by selecting family characteristics and making choices about which public benefits the family receives when eligible.
About 85 percent of low-income children have parents who work, and most have at least one parent working full-time, year-round. Nonetheless, many of these parents are unable to afford basic necessities for their families, such as food, housing, and stable child care. Even a full-time job is not always enough to make ends meet, and many parents cannot get ahead simply by working more. As earnings increase—particularly as they rise above the official poverty level—families begin to lose eligibility for work supports. At the same time, work-related expenses, such as child care and transportation, increase. This means that parents may earn more without a family experiencing more financial security. In some cases, earning more actually leaves a family with fewer resources after the bills are paid. The Family Resource Simulator, developed by the National Center for Children in Poverty, illustrates how this happens. This web-based tool calculates resources and expenses for a hypothetical family that the user "creates" by selecting city and state, family characteristics, income sources, and assets. The user also selects which public benefits the family receives when eligible and makes choices about what happens when the family loses benefits (e.g., does the family seek cheaper child care after losing a subsidy?). The result is a series of charts that show the hypothetical family's total income from various sources as earnings rise, as well as the cost of basic family expenses. Using the Simulator, this report describes the experiences of two hypothetical families in the workforce.
Neither the federal government, nor the states, has a coordinated or comprehensive work supports system. The current work supports system is comprised of a patch work of programs, such as EITC, child care programs, food stamps, Medicaid, SCHIP, and TANF. As a result of this disjointed history, these work support programs do not always help working parents meet their families' needs. Using the Family Resource Simulator, a web-based policy tool, the authors make specific suggestions for how to improve the Illinois work support system. First, the Article present the landscape of work support systems and how they affect working families as income rises. Next, the Article shows the benefits of the Illinois work supports programs and also spotlights where the programs leave gaps or policy problems. Finally, the Article shows how the simulator can be used to model policy solutions to the problems revealed by the Article.
This fact sheet shows that families in New York are struggling despite small family sizes and high rates of parental employment. More than two out of every five children in New York State live in low-income families. Low-income rates are even higher in New York City, where more than half of the children live in low-income families.
About 85 percent of low-income children have parents who work, and most have at least one parent working full-time, year-round. Nonetheless, many of these parents are unable to afford basic necessities for their families, such as food, housing, and stable child care. Even a full-time job is not always enough to make ends meet, and many parents cannot get ahead simply by working more. As earnings increase—particularly as they rise above the official poverty level—families begin to lose eligibility for work supports. At the same time, work-related expenses, such as child care and transportation, increase. This means that parents may earn more without a family experiencing more financial security. In some cases, earning more actually leaves a family with fewer resources after the bills are paid. The Family Resource Simulator, developed by the National Center for Children in Poverty, illustrates how this happens. This web-based tool calculates resources and expenses for a hypothetical family that the user "creates" by selecting city and state, family characteristics, income sources, and assets. The user also selects which public benefits the family receives when eligible and makes choices about what happens when the family loses benefits (e.g., does the family seek cheaper child care after losing a subsidy?). The result is a series of charts that show the hypothetical family's total income from various sources as earnings rise, as well as the cost of basic family expenses. Using the Simulator, this report describes the experiences of two hypothetical families in the workforce.
About 85 percent of low-income children have parents who work, and most have at least one parent working full-time, year-round. Nonetheless, many of these parents are unable to afford basic necessities for their families, such as food, housing, and stable child care. Even a full-time job is not always enough to make ends meet, and many parents cannot get ahead simply by working more. As earnings increase—particularly as they rise above the official poverty level—families begin to lose eligibility for work supports. At the same time, work-related expenses, such as child care and transportation, increase. This means that parents may earn more without a family experiencing more financial security. In some cases, earning more actually leaves a family with fewer resources after the bills are paid. The Family Resource Simulator, developed by the National Center for Children in Poverty, illustrates how this happens. This web-based tool calculates resources and expenses for a hypothetical family that the user "creates" by selecting city and state, family characteristics, income sources, and assets. The user also selects which public benefits the family receives when eligible and makes choices about what happens when the family loses benefits (e.g., does the family seek cheaper child care after losing a subsidy?). The result is a series of charts that show the hypothetical family's total income from various sources as earnings rise, as well as the cost of basic family expenses. Using the Simulator, this report describes the experiences of two hypothetical families in the workforce.
